Democratic Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-IL) is endorsing Paul Ryan for Speaker of the House of Representatives. Gutierrez, perhaps the most extreme open-borders advocate in Congress, was interviewed on MSNBC.

12:40 UPDATE:

Rep. Tom Cole (R-OK) is pushing Ryan for Speaker. Cole is one of Boehner’s closest allies.

“I think eventually Paul Ryan will get into this thing, I really do [think he will win],” Cole said on MSNBC. “I think we’ve had two guys fall on their swords for the good of the conference. In this case it’s hard not to step up when there’s an overwhelming demand.”

Cole admitted last year he was involved in writing the more-than-1,500-page-long so-called “CRomnibus” spending bill that eventually funded President Obama’s executive amnesty—despite a now broken promise from Boehner and his allies to fight “tooth and nail” against the executive amnesty—in a literal cigar-smoke-filled back room.

“There’s no secrets in this body,” Cole said in a contentious House Rules Committee hearing on the cromnibus.

Rep. John Kline (R-MN) a Minnesota Republican who chairs the House Education and Workforce Committee] is my best friend in the United States Congress, and George Miller [a California Democrat who’s the ranking member of that committee] is certainly one of my best friends on the other side of the aisle.

I’ve had the opportunity to talk about this particular pension problem over a cigar at the end of the day on more than one occasion.

I’ve heard about his great frustrations and the cost and the only other person who seemed to realize the problem was named George Miller, which was pretty shocking in and of itself.”

They went on for several minutes discussing how the bill was written and negotiated over cigars and Cole also called Democratic National Committee (DNC) chairwoman Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) “my partner.” Of course, Cole’s backing of Ryan means if any other members get in line with Cole behind Ryan they risk being tainted with the same ghastly images of writing bills in cigar-smoke-filled back rooms in Washington, D.C. Ryan’s support for TARP—the 2008 bank bailout, for which he made an impassioned plea on the House floor for everyone to support—has also been making the rounds around the conservative movement for some time now.

12:22 UPDATE:

A vote for Paul Ryan for Speaker of the House by any Republican member will be considered a vote for amnesty for illegal aliens by the strongest grassroots anti-amnesty organization in America, NumbersUSA’s director of government relations Rosemary Jenks tells Breitbart News exclusively that the group will consider any vote for Ryan—especially after his endorsement for Speaker from Democratic pro-amnesty Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-IL)—a vote for amnesty.

“A vote for Paul Ryan is a vote for Gang of Eight style amnesty that includes massive increases in legal immigration and replacing American workers with foreign-born workers. A vote for Paul Ryan is a vote to continue Obama’s transformation of America.”

After this, it will be hard for any Republican to explain to their constituents why they voted for amnesty by voting for Paul Ryan if they do.

12:18 UPDATE:

The editorial board of the Wall Street Journal is joining the donor class in its call for Paul Ryan to “stand as the only potential Speaker” who could stop what it refers to as the “Republican Crack-Up.” The WSJ board refers to the conservative House Freedom Caucus as “refuseniks.”

“The rebels don’t have nearly enough support to stand up their own man, but they can blow up all House business and decapitate the leadership of their own party,” the board writes. “The danger is that having deposed Mr. Boehner and now Mr. McCarthy, they will refuse to back anyone who won’t meet their demands.”

Citing Donald Trump and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) as “vessels” for the frustration of the Freedom Caucus, the editorial board says the conservatives lack a “realistic or even remotely plausible strategy” to achieve their goals.

“Mr. Ryan may be the only Republican with the national standing and conservative credentials to defy the Cruz ultimatums,” the board writes. “He’d be assailed with the usual sellout and surrender epithets, any future presidential ambitions might suffer, and he’d have less time for his young children. But he could save the House majority from self-destruction.”

12:13 UPDATE:

Paul Ryan will have trouble distancing himself from John Boehner. He volunteered for the outgoing Speaker while in college.

NOON UPDATE:

Rep. Steven Palazzo (R-MS) is seriously considering nominating Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), a well-respected Republican member and serious alternative to Ryan, for Speaker of the House.

“Like his colleagues, Mississippi Congressman Steven Palazzo is actively discussing options for Speaker of the House with fellow Republican members of Congress. Palazzo has now indicated that he is pushing for Rep. Marsha Blackburn (TN) as the next Speaker,” Frank Corder, a blogger for Mississippi blog Y’All Politics, wrote in a Friday morning post. “Blackburn is a Mississippi native, born in Jones County, and has represented Tennessee’s 7th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives since 2003.”

Palazzo made the announced on WMXI 98.1FM radio in the PineBelt area of Mississippi, and Corder wrote that he “noted that should the discussions prove fruitful on Blackburn he would be willing to nominate her for the post.”

Blackburn is an attractive candidate for Speaker in that she has broad appeal among Republicans and is well respected by her colleagues. Few can question her conservative bona fides, making Blackburn a potential consensus candidate for Speaker. Many believe Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan to be the one Congressmen who could unify the party in the House but he has repeatedly declined to offer up his name for consideration. Texas

Rep. Mike Conaway (R-TX) has also been mentioned by sources close to the discussions.

Blackburn would be someone who would be able to unite the entire GOP conference and doesn’t have the support—like Ryan does—of Democrats like Luis Gutierrez. She’s also opposed to amnesty for illegal aliens and hasn’t been supportive of many of the big government programs that Ryan, alongside Boehner’s side, has pushed.

11:42 UPDATE:

One of the most vocal advocates for amnesty has given his stamp of approval to Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) for House Speaker, according to Huffington Post reporter Sam Stein.

Friday Stein tweeted that Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-IL) “says Paul Ryan would be a good Speaker and work w/ Dems. Then says he probably just hurt Ryan’s chances by saying that.”

Gutierrez and Ryan have worked together in the past, notably on comprehensive immigration reform. In that pursuit, in 2013 Gutierrez said he saw Ryan as his “ally” in fighting for amnesty for illegal immigrants. “So, when I sit down and talk to people, I clear the table, so I can see Paul Ryan not as budget chairman, not as somebody whose budget I have voted and will always vote against, but as a friend and an ally to free 11 million people,” Gutierrez said in 2013 on Democracy Now about his push for immigration reform. “So, I create new friendships and new relationships in regards to comprehensive immigration reform, because, let’s face it, Democrats didn’t do it in 2007, 2008–we were in the majority. Democrats didn’t do it in 2009 and 2010–we were in the majority. Now we’ve got to do it.”

11:40 UPDATE:

Rep. Paul Ryan’s spokesperson Brendan Buck released the following statement this morning to assure everyone that he was not running for Speaker. “Chairman Ryan appreciates the support he’s getting from his colleagues but is still not running for Speaker,” Buck said in a short statement sent to reporters. Ryan has not changed his position from yesterday since he immediately declined to run after House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy abruptly decided to drop his bid for Speaker. However Boehner and McCarthy and their allies have lobbied heavily for Ryan to change his mind. In spite of Ryan’s refusals, many senior GOP establishment figures have been optimistically telling reporters that he may reconsider. 11:36 UPDATE: GOP presidential candidate Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) previously told WABC Radio’s Rita Cosby that the House must select a “strong conservative” for Speaker of the House:

What I have consistently encouraged House Republicans to do in selecting a speaker, is to elect a strong conservative. And I think the most important characteristic of the next speaker, is that he or she be committed to honoring the promises that we made to the men and women who elected us. I think the American people are frustrated out of their minds with Washington. They’re frustrated with Republican leadership, because they haven’t been honoring those promises of standing up and fighting the disastrous Obama agenda, and I hope the next speaker is committed to doing so.

11:34 UPDATE: Paul Ryan isn’t yet ready to run: “Chairman Ryan appreciates the support he’s getting from his colleagues but is still not running for Speaker,” according to a statement from his office.

11:32 UPDATE: “We have a power-based system where a few people at the top of the pyramid of power make all the decisions,”

Rep. Daniel Webster (R-FL) says. “All I want to do is what I did in Florida: Push down that pyramid of power, spread out the power base so every member gets a say. That’s all I want.” Webster is a former Speaker of the Florida House.

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